Protective bandages are widely used for covering wounds and sensitive body areas. Some such bandages typically comprise an elongated patch or strip which usually has an associated gauze pad or the like which overlies the sensitive area and which serves to permit air flow and promote healing. Typical bandages of this type are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,858,830; 2,992,644; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,113,568. Although the gauze or like material of such a bandage provides modest cushioning, it fails to provide protection against sharp impacts or repeated impacts due to a wide variety of environmental conditions.
It would be of advantage to athletes and to a broad universe of users of protective bandages to provide for substantially enhanced resistance to inflicting additional injury to, or causing pain in, a sensitive body area, such as a preexisting wound, blistered area or the like, by impacts from a variety of sources.